Lebanon Opportunities – August 2019

rates on payments at points of sale (POS)
range from 1.4 percent to 2.25 percent. LSB
charges the lowest rate on POS transactions.
Besides interest, cardholders also pay
commission fees when using ATMs. Most
of the commission charges are determined
in percentage terms with a minimum fixed
amount. Commission rates range from one
percent to five percent. LGB Bank, SGBL,
and IBL Bank charge a commission of
one percent, while NBK-Lebanon charges
five percent. Minimum fixed commissions
range from $1 to $12.50. In addition to the
interest rates and commissions, the banks
also often charge an annual membership fee
that could range from $100 to $750. Credit
Libanais offers clients the Metallic World
Elite MasterCard VVIP upon invitation at an
annual fee of $750. VVIP stands for Very Very
Important Person.

CHARGE CARDS
Holders of charge cards pay an annual
membership fee and ATM charges, they do
not pay interest. The annual fee ranges
from $111 to $4,000. BLOM Bank is offering
the invitation-only Centurion card from
American Express for $4,000. A number of
banks set a ceiling on spending that could
range from $10,000 to $223,000. The highest
upper limit on spending was set by Banque
Libano-Française (BLF) on its Visa Infinite
card. The ceiling on BLF’s Visa Infinite (USD)
is $200,000 and on its Visa Infinite (Euro)
the ceiling is €100,000 ($223,000). Some
banks charge a fixed fee on ATM transactions
that ranges from $1 to $7.50. Some banks do
not charge any fees when their ATM network
is used. Other banks charge a percentage on

32 LEBANON OPPORTUNITIES, AUGUST 2019

the value of the transaction that ranges from

one percent to 2.5 percent. A fixed amount

is charged when the variable amount is less

than the fixed charge, which ranges from

$3 to $15. A few banks charge a mixture of

both variable and fixed charges at the same

time. Some banks do not set an upper limit

on monthly spending. Others deal with the

matter on a case-by-case basis.

PRICES AND BENEFITS

BoB offers its Visa Infinite Card to its

high net worth customer segment that it

labels the ‘Premium Club’. In addition to

the Visa Infinite credit card, BoB gives its

clients a Visa Signature debit card, which

provides the same perks as the Visa Infinite

Card. BLOM has created a special website

dedicated to holders of its Visa Infinite

Card. Fady Azzy, Head of Retail Business

Development at BLOM Bank, said that clients

who look for high lifestyle services are

willing to pay a high annual fee for cards

like Centurion. This is because they find

significant value in this card as it offers

many perks such as concierge services and

access to lounges at airports and at VIP clubs

such as golf clubs, he said. According to Azzy,

customers can save thousands of dollars

through these perks. Makary said that the

:7,*0(39,769;

CREDIT CARDS

COMMON TERMS FOR REVOLVING

AND CHARGE CREDIT CARHOLDERS

Categories Revolving Credit cards Charge credit cards

From To

Minimum monthly payment 5% (min. $20) 10% (min. $50) 100%

Card price Free $500 $175 - $500 (except for

AMEX Centurion Card

$3,000)

Interest rates through ATMs 1.75% 2.75% Not available

Interest rates through POS 1.45% 2.25% Not available

Max card ceiling Starting

$5,000

Unlimited Starting $10,000 -

Unlimited

ATM charges per transaction

from issuing bank

$1 or LL1,000 $5 or LL7,500 Free - 3% min $5

ATM charges per transaction

from other banks

1.5% (min. $5) 2.5% min. $7.5 1% (min. $5)

2.5% (min. $7.5)

Source: InfoPro Research

BENEFITS

s Priority Pass membership

s Privilege to issue supplementary credit

cards

s Free access to VIP airport lounges

through LoungeKey

s Concierge Service

s Travel insurance and assistance coverage

s Medical and Legal Referral services

s Purchase Protection Insurance

s Extended Warranty Coverage

s Special offers worldwide though

VISA & MasterCard

Concierge services facilitate luxury shopping